Designing a Wallet System That Made Mentorship Feel Earned
💳 Designing a Wallet System That Made Mentorship Feel Earned
A case study on building in-app currency, credibility, and habit loops in Mentorpedia
TL;DR
To drive more meaningful interactions and reduce spam bookings, we introduced a wallet and credit system inside Mentorpedia — a mentorship platform I built for students and early professionals. It added friction in the right places, helped establish mentor respect, and introduced the foundation for a future rewards and freemium model.
🧠 The Problem
Early in Mentorpedia's beta, we saw a surprising pattern:
Students were booking sessions casually… then not showing up
Some mentors were overwhelmed with back-to-back requests
There was no system to signal effort, intent, or credibility
It was free, frictionless — but sometimes, that worked against us.
So I asked:
“Can we make mentorship feel more intentional — without making it feel expensive?”
🎯 Our Goal
Add accountability to student bookings
Encourage engagement, not just signups
Offer mentors a signal of student seriousness
Lay groundwork for future incentives and gamified loops
🛠 Solution: Mentorpedia Wallet + Credits
We introduced a Wallet System where:
Every new user got 5 free credits
Booking a mentor session cost 1–3 credits, depending on mentor type
Credits could be earned by:
Leaving feedback
Referring friends
Attending 3+ sessions in a month
Future roadmap included:
Buy credits (freemium)
Mentor “giveaway” sessions
College leaderboard competitions
🔧 Technical Architecture
Firebase backend → Firestore for storing credit balance
Credits deducted via Cloud Functions post-booking
Wallet UI built in React → integrated into user dashboard
Admin dashboard for setting mentor credit value per profile
🧪 Experiments
Tested friction: free vs paid credits → higher show-up rate with credit use
A/B tested “Credit Balance” widget location: top nav bar = highest usage
Referral tracking with UTM-based invite links tied to bonus credits
📈 Results
MetricBefore WalletAfter WalletNo-show rate32%12% ↓Feedback completion14%38% ↑Referral conversion<5%18% ↑
Mentors also reported:
Better session quality
More thoughtful mentee questions
Higher follow-up rate
💡 What I Learned
Not all friction is bad — it can actually drive value perception
In-app currency isn't just functional — it's psychological
Students felt like they were earning mentorship, not just consuming it
It also gave us an economic loop for monetization (without feeling icky)
🔮 What’s Next
Dynamic credit pricing based on mentor demand
Credit gifting between peers
College-based team challenges for extra credits
Partner offers (free credits on purchasing Coursera/Udemy/etc.)
Final Thoughts
Building the Mentorpedia Wallet wasn’t about money.
It was about meaning.
By introducing a sense of value, effort, and reciprocity, we made mentorship more real — and more respected. And in the process, we learned that designing incentives = designing intention.
Want to explore the UX or copywriting around the wallet system?
→ Visit amishsri.framer.website
→ Or message me on LinkedIn